THE BARN OPERA HOUSE

BARN OPERA HAS A NEW PERMANENT HOME!

After 2 years in the beautiful acoustics and phenomenal venue of BRANDON MUSIC, BARN OPERA decided that the intimate space with 50 seats was not enough to even hold the audience in Brandon that wanted to see BARN OPERA, not to mention our desire to expand to serve more of Vermont and the New England region as a whole!

We had been searching for months in Brandon and throughout Rutland county, and believe that we may have looked at, trespassed in, and explored every barn larger than 20x40 in the area! At long last, we found an absolutely perfect venue in a phenomenal post-and-beam dairy barn, adjacent to the Sanderson Covered Bridge!

The barn is situated perfectly next to Otter Creek, with long range views of the mountains, as well as the river, with every aesthetic detail that someone who is looking to experience Vermont could want! There is a picturesque foundation of a silo directly adjacent to one of the points of entry to the barn. This will become a pre/post-show (weather dependent) lounge, with a firepit and benches, on a beautiful pea stone garden which will be called "The Founders' Garden" with inscriptions of the generous donors that made the purchase of the property a possibility.

Beside "The Founders' Garden," there is a rock face that is currently covered by brush and overgrowth. That will be cleaned and there will be a rotating sculptural art exhibit along the rock wall, leading to the general parking for "The BARN OPERA House."

The barn is located on Pearl Street in Brandon, and is 73 feet long, by 35 feet wide, with beautiful pine flooring, and an interior aesthetic that is absolutely breathtaking! The dimensions of the barn allow for two zones, the lobby/pre-show area, and the performance space. The Lobby will be home to a bar serving only Brandon Wine and Beer, a reservations counter, and café tables for those audience members that arrive prior to the doors opening. The doors are going to be large barn doors that will be closed prior to the performance and opened on sliding rails once the audience is invited into the auditorium. The auditorium will hold 110 stationary upholstered theatre seats, the orchestra pit for our instrumentalists, as well as some backstage space for those performers not on stage.

While this new space will be called "The BARN OPERA House," there will hopefully be many more community centric uses for the the regionally-recognized venue, including, but not limited to:

• Host of the Vermont Vocal Competition 2021

• Vermont Symphony Orchestra - Annual Traveling Ensemble

• Art Film Hosting

• Theatrical Events

• Fine Art Displays

• Private Rental for Weddings, Lectures, etc.

• Many other community events!

THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS FOR YOU TO GET INVOLVED, AND WE WOULD ABSOLUTELY LOVE YOU TO BE A PART OF THIS CULTURAL MOVEMENT! 

1. GENERAL MONETARY DONATION:

We are sure this will come as no surprise to you, but as a registered 501(c)3 organization, BARN OPERA is constantly in need of tax-deductible financial contributions in order to produce the high quality works that the BARN OPERA audiences have come to expect. However, we have even more need now, as in order to renovate the barn, and the surrounding environs, to bring them to governmental standards, we are anticipating a renovation cost of approximately $100,000.00. While we would welcome a donation of that magnitude, we understand that not all of us (ourselves included!) have the financial means to donate at that level. Therefore, we want to stress that if you believe in the benefit of having BARN OPERA in Brandon, and if you believe in the work that we are producing, we would welcome and encourage donations of ANY amount - from $1 to $1,000,000. We are in this for community economic development as well, and we are so excited to have as much community engagement and involvement as possible. We are able to accept tax deductible donations via direct deposit from checking accounts, credit/debit card, Paypal, bank and wire transfer, corporate sponsorship, or donation of investments or securities. If you would like to donate to BARN OPERA through another medium, or to join our "Future Legacy" program, please contact us, and we will certainly work to accommodate you.

2. SPECIFIC MONETARY DONATION:

Instead of a monetary donation to a general fund to be used, perhaps you would prefer to donate toward a specific element in the theatre, such as the theatre seats, which have already been sponsored by one of our generous donors. We will need a full lighting array, a bar, music stands and lights, a film projector and theatre screen, interior and exterior lighting, refreshment refrigeration, as well as many other elements. If you are interested in naming rights for sponsoring one of these elements, or another element not listed here, please contact BARN OPERA's Artistic Director, Joshua Collier, directly at collier@barnopera.com or (802) 772-5601.

3. VOLUNTEER DONATION:

As you can see from the photos above, the barn is in great structural and physical shape, but it is still a barn and will require substantial amount of cleaning and preparation before any renovations can happen. We are definitely looking for anyone with a pair of gloves, a respirator (for hay and dust), and a community-centric "can-do" attitude, who wants to join the BARN OPERA team for a cleaning party! After the barn is spic and span, we'll be starting the process of insulating the barn and renovating. Anyone with any experience with construction at any level that would want to donate time would be most welcome! Just send us a note with what you would like to do, and when you are available, and our technical director will be in touch! Also, there is a great deal of landscaping, gardening, etc to do in order to make "The BARN OPERA House" the envy of New England, and all green thumbs are greatly appreciated.

4. IN-KIND DONATION: 

Perhaps you are unable to donate monetarily, and you are also out of town, or unavailable to help us in the barn physically, but you still want to give... No problem! We are absolutely in need of many things on a rotating basis and would be happy to take any of these things and more:

• Unused Gift Cards - Got some unused gift cards lying around the house? Donate them to a good cause!

• Gift Certificates - The BARN OPERA team would love to have some food while they work to renovate!

• Airline Points/Miles - For Artist travel

• Lumber - Got extra lumber from a personal construction job? We'll take it!

• Cleaning Supplies

• Paint - We need a lot of "BARN red!"

• Tools - We are creating a scene shop onsite and any donation of tools will greatly help!

• Much More! - Have something you want to donate to BARN OPERA? Let us know!

5. NETWORKING DONATION:

We certainly understand that there are often so many things in our lives that require our attention and resources, and occasionally, as much as we want to donate either time, talent, or resources, we can't because of circumstances beyond our control. However, spreading the word to other social circles would be incredibly helpful as well, as it may be that someone in a concentric circle of friendship might be just the link to a substantial donor or a new opera lover. Sharing BARN OPERA's social media, newsletters, website, and even mouth-to-mouth communication are always appreciated! If you or any of your contacts have any questions about BARN OPERA or its operations, please feel free to email us and someone will get back to you asap!

HOWEVER YOU CHOOSE TO SUPPORT BARN OPERA, WE ARE TREMENDOUSLY GRATEFUL!

You, dearest friends of BARN OPERA, are the reason why we are to this point at all!

You have supported us from our inaugural production of Madama Butterfly; you came out in droves for our concert of Opera's Greatest Hits; you laughed your way through Così Fan Tutte, and cried your way through La Bohème; you tapped your toe through The Barber of Seville; you were challenged and made to reflect by Carmen; you joined us for a bedtime story with The Magic Flute; you started a new holiday tradition with us through Amahl and the Night Visitors, and you hunkered down, and helped keep music alive during the COVID pandemic with our Social Distance Opera project!

BARN OPERA has only you to thank for its continued success and with your help, we can secure the promise of many years of high quality musical and cultural experiences in our most wonderfully bucolic and beautiful town of Brandon, Vermont!

Joshua Collier, Artistic Director, BARN OPERA
​Russ McColman, President of the Board of Directors, BARN OPERA
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On behalf of...
The Entire BARN OPERA Team